


the ballad of jane doe

by choose_joy



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: ride the cyclone au, they're all dead but this will have a hopeful ending, this is the nichest content on the planet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27613240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/choose_joy/pseuds/choose_joy
Summary: six friends. an unfortunate roller coaster accident. a chance for one of them to survive.(or: the nichest possible thing i could ever write)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. sailing through space

**Author's Note:**

> there is a one sentence description of the way a character died (beyond “roller coaster accident”) starting with: “i’m afraid i don’t know...” and ending with “...a jane doe...” it’s really brief and it’s not gory but if you’d rather skip over it, that’s the part to avoid!

Not all endings are fair. 

This is something Wilde has learned time and time again, especially in his line of work. 

So, when his time finally comes, he vows to make a difference. You know, the one perk to being able to predict the deaths of everyone you come into contact with is that you can actually plan ahead for these sort of things. So, while he might not be able to stop anything, he can rewrite the future, just a bit. 

He chooses his group carefully— a set of six, all tragically perishing in the same accident just a few hundred feet from his own booth. 

If only he’d been able to tell them to avoid the rollercoaster. Damn family friendly settings. 

No matter. They’ll do nicely. 

They’re friends. Or, well, mostly. Coworkers is too vague, and family feels... something. Something personal. He hardly thinks it’s his place to decide that. The point is, it’ll make things easier, when they have a choice to make. 

Speaking of, it’s only a matter of time before the cart derails, and Wilde has to work quickly if he’s going to have everything prepared before the rat chews through the cord on his booth. 

So, he prepares. 

——

Hamid opens his eyes. 

How is he opening his eyes? The last thing he remembers is his stomach pitching out from under him as he falls and falls and falls. 

——

Azu opens her eyes. 

The afterlife isn’t what she expected. It looks a lot like the backstage of a tented theater.

——

Grizzop opens his eyes. 

“Fuck,” he says. 

——

Cel opens their eyes. 

They’re off their feet in seconds, rocketing around the impossible room and poking at anything they can get their hands on.

——

Zolf opens his eyes. 

For some reason, the first thing that strikes him is that he’s in no pain at all. 

——

A doll opens her eyes. 

She doesn’t know who she is. 

——

When the six finally arrive, Wilde almost can’t believe his luck. The timing was tight, is tight— tighter than he thinks it should be, but then, death is rarely slow enough for anyone’s liking, even when you can predict it. 

Still, when they open their eyes, he breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Or, he would, if he were alive. Semantics.

“I am the great and all-powerful Wilde,” he says, his voice booming from the speakers around the room. 

The six startle, save for the doll. “W ho do you think you are?” the small pointy one asks, far too many teeth on display. 

“Did I not just answer that?” he responds, drily. He knows how the pointy one (Grizzop, his mind reminds him) is going to respond, so instead he presses on. “You’re all dead.”

This gets a bigger reaction, though it varies more wildly: anger, grief, and denial from most, yes, but also... excitement, somewhat unsurprisingly, from the elf. 

“Why are we here, then?” the orc (Azu, he thinks) asks, her timbre a clear, palpable comfort to her friends.

“There’s a way out,” Wilde responds, “but only for one of you, I’m afraid.”

“Why the hell not all of us?” the dwarf speaks, this time. “You toying with us for fun? This amusing to you?”

Wilde can’t help but sigh. Time is ticking, and this is going slower than it should (he can feel the cord snapping still). “Unfortunately, in exactly 2 hours and 7 minutes, a mouse is going to eat through the cord of my box and I will die as well. I can only bring one of you back, that’s the way it works.”

“Hang on,” responds Zolf, “you’re that creepy fortune telling animatronic thing from the carnival, aren’t you?”

Wilde sighs, again, before responding in the affirmative. 

“You—you’re the one who told us to ride the cyclone,” the halfling pipes up, finally rising to his feet. 

“I’m afraid so,” he responds, “Unfortunately even I can’t change the settings on my booth. Now, if we can get st—“

He’s cut off by the elf, this time. “How is this even possible?” they say, still running around the room, “There’s light and sound and we’re all together, this shouldn’t be possible! It’s remarkable!”

“As much as I’d like to toot my own horn, as it were, we really don’t have long.”

“Who’s that?” Azu asks now, pointing to the doll. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know. I was hoping you would,” he sighs. “She was... decapitated, in the end, and no one claimed her. A Jane Doe, I’m afraid. Do none of you remember her?”

The five look around at each other, more than a little shaken by the realization that no, any memory of her has seemingly vanished from their minds. 

“No matter,” he presses on, clapping his plastic hands together, “We must get started. I was hoping you all could state your cases for me. Who’s first?”


	2. what the world needs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hamid makes his case.

Hamid opens his eyes.

How is he opening his eyes? The last thing he remembers is his stomach pitching out from under him as he falls and falls and falls. But no, those are his fingers, and his toes, and when he looks around, his friends are there too?

Well, his friends and a somewhat creepy looking doll.

When Wilde tells them they’re all dead, Hamid doesn’t really know how to respond. What are you meant to do when you’re dead? He cries, obviously, but let's be real, when does he not?

The second that Wilde tells them there’s a chance, though, that one of them could survive? Something shifts in him. He loves his friends, he does, but he can’t just _leave_ his family! They need him, they’re relying on him. Saleh is in rehab again, Saira is busy with work, Aziza is on a world tour, and the twins are far too young to help out at the bank, even if they wanted to (they don’t). Someone needs to be there, and it needs to be him.

And, comparatively speaking, he thinks, his life affords him more opportunities for change. If he’s brought back, he can make a real, palpable difference to the world. He has the money, he has the power, and he has the drive. Honestly, from an objective standpoint, it makes sense for it to be him.

He says as much, as soon as Wilde asks them to state their cases.

It does not go well.

His friends don’t understand. They couldn’t, of course not. It seems selfish (and if a voice in his brain tells him it _is_ selfish? Well, that can stay with him). The thing is, though, he’s making good points! If they’d all just listen—

That is, of course, when Wilde deigns to let them know that he’s not the one making the choice. Apparently, they all need to vote unanimously.

Oops.

To be fair, he probably would have said the same things, for the most part. Maybe he would have said it a bit nicer, but the point still stands, even if the others don’t see it that way.

“I can’t believe you called me unreliable!” Zolf seethes at him, pulling him away from the rest of the group, “Just because I needed some space doesn’t mean that I’m unworthy of life, Hamid, what the hell? I thought we— I thought were friends.” He lowers his voice when the others start to become a bit too quiet themselves, waiting to continue until they look away.

  
  
“We are friends,” Hamid responds, shakily. “Zolf, you know I care about you. I just think that— that I’m the right person for this. I have a family that needs m—“

“Oh, suddenly because I don’t have ‘close family connections’ means I shouldn’t live? What about Azu, then?”

“Stop it! Just— just stop it, ok?” Hamid cries, “It doesn’t even matter now, it has to be a unanimous decision, and I’ve pretty well botched that, haven’t I.”

On another day, Zolf might have comforted his crying friend. Even now, it takes him more control than he’d care to admit to prevent himself from reaching out.Still, though, this isn’t the time. “C’mon, Hamid,” he says, instead, “Up you get. If we only have a couple hours left, do you want to be left feeling sorry for yourself?”

Hamid, unsurprisingly, cries harder.

“Alright then,” Zolf says, “C’mon back to us when you’re ready. You may be stupid and selfish sometimes, but I— we love you.”

Hamid nods again, letting the tears fall openly from where he’d curled in on himself. What he’s said, what he’s done finally starts to sink in, and it’s not a pretty sight. He can hear Zolf’s footsteps retreating, can hear his friends talking in low voices, without him, and… yeah. Yeah, he deserves that. Gods, what was he thinking?

So yes, he does take a few more moments to compose himself, before quietly rejoining his friends. His friends who, he realizes with a shock, are far too kind to him, because the second he’s back, Azu wraps him in a hug.

“Ah, now that we’re all together again,” Wilde’s voice booms as he rejoins the group, “Who’s next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i recognize that this fic is entirely self indulgent and yet? i do not care!!
> 
> anyway there's not even a soundtrack for this musical but there are some youtube videos if you find yourself taken with it! i'm changing some elements to try to make it fit better as well, so if you do look it up, don't be surprised!


	3. azu's lament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> azu reflects on her life.

Azu opens her eyes.

The afterlife isn’t what she expected. To be honest, she wasn’t sure what she _was_ expecting. Maybe an afterlife where she could help people in small ways? A guardian angel, of sorts? Or maybe a place where she could just… rest.

Well, no matter what, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Some sort of celestial back room that smells of sweat and rotting funnel cake shouldn’t be her final resting place. It shouldn’t be _anyone’s_.

Although, if the strange talking automaton is to be believed, this isn’t the _end_ end. It’s a "liminal space", which should sound comforting, that there’s hope but…

…but things like that don’t happen for Azu.

So, she does what she does best. She comforts her friends (and gods, Hamid’s a right mess, isn’t he?), and she stays strong, and she focuses, because at least if she has to be stuck here, now, she knows (hopes) that there’s an end. That she can rest, that she won’t be stuck in yet another monotonous, endless—

“What about you, Azu?”

She starts a bit when she hears Hamid’s hesitant voice from where he’s curled up by her chest. “What about me?” she asks.

“Well, wasn’t there anything else you wanted? In—in life?”

  
  
“I suppose so,” she replies, “But it hardly matters now.”

“One could argue that now is the time it matters most, my friend!” Cel pipes up, from where they’re studying the construction of the stage in the corner of the room.

“C’mon, Azu,” Zolf nudges her, “You’re always lettin’ others go, I think it’s your turn.”

And how can she say no when Zolf ( _Zolf_ , the one who had such a hard time opening up to her in the beginning) asks her so nicely?

So, she talks.

She talks about feeling stuck in a rut at home, feeling trapped to always be the perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect friend. She talks about all the ways that she lived up to that, really. Or, as best she could, after Aphrodite called to her. She tells them of home and of safety and of monotony.

And then, closing her eyes, she tells them about her dreams.

Her dreams aren’t necessarily what people would expect of her. And, after joining Aphrodite, never seemed like they’d be in the cards after all. She made her peace with it, and she was happy, and yet…

“Did you know I always pictured myself living in a little Parisian apartment writing trashy romance novels?” She says, sighing wistfully. “I’d have a beautiful wife, and there’d be bread cooking in the oven, and we’d have two cats that would always get in the way of my typewriter. Sometimes she’d pull me away from the balcony when the radio played a song she liked, and we’d dance in the kitchen. And maybe it wouldn’t be big, or fancy, but it would be enough for us.”

Azu lets her eyes drift open again, and when they land on Zolf again, he just nods at her.

“I know it would never happen, not now, but… yeah. That’s my inner life, and all that,” she says, letting her blush finally color her cheeks, just a bit. "A bit Harrison Campbell, I suppose."

“Well, I think it’s lovely, Azu,” Hamid pipes up, from where he sat himself across from her when she started talking.

From over in the corner, Grizzop says “I can see how it’d be appealing, maybe," all the while bouncing on the balls of his feet, shifting in the directions that Cel points him towards.

“Yes, well, missed opportunities and all that,” she says, an air of finality coloring the words.

And that’s the end of that.


	4. space aged bachelor man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> grizzop gets to work.

Grizzop opens his eyes.

“Fuck,” he says.

And then he gets to work.

Cel must be on the same page as him, because they both start looking around the room seconds after awakening. With practiced ease, they cover both sides of the room— Cel towards the stage in the corner, Grizzop towards the crates on the opposite side. It’s easy enough to leverage the lids off of them— a simple matter of shoving them to the side and pushing hard enough on the outcropping that they fall away.

Inside, there are a number of bells and whistles— silken sheets that have no right being as large as they are, tufted cushions that are clearly brand new, even a few strings of lights.

Well, it’s not much, but it is something to do. So while the others are lamenting their deaths (and gods, is Hamid really trying to pull the rich kid card now?), he’s actually _doing_ something. And sure, it’s a temporary thing, but by the time Azu’s spilled her guts, he’s set up a cozy little corner that, if he says so himself, is quite inviting.

“Cheers, Azu,” he says, once she’s ended the conversation. “Fancy a sit?” At this point, the rest of the group turn to look at him, and Azu lets out a little gasp at the sight.

“Oh, Grizzop,” she says, tears pooling in her eyes, “it’s beautiful.”

“Yes, well,” he says, bouncing on the balls of his feet again, “Something to do.”

“What about you, Grizzop?” Hamid asks, once he’s sat down in a corner (by himself, Grizzop notices, despite Azu’s botched attempt to join him).

“What about me?” Grizzop responds.

“Well, we’re all already here, and since Wilde seems insistent we share our stories, what about you? What did you want from life?”

“Time.”

The word is out before he can check himself, though he probably wouldn’t have.

“Time,” the doll responds, quiet.

“Yeah,” he says, “Listen, I don’t have any false illusions about my lifespan, okay? I know goblins don’t live as long as humans, or dwarves, or whatever, right? Like, I was always gonna be the first one out, y’know? And I’m not saying that to have you pity me, it’s just the way life is, innit?”

Cel, still for the first time, coughs quietly.

“Listen, all I’m sayin’ is, even when I was alive, I wanted more time to do things. I had plans and I wanted to help people, but that’s not what happened, right?” He presses on, “At the end of the day, whatever’s on the other side is gonna be just as much an adventure, and frankly, I look forward to not havin’ to worry so much about the timing of it, alright?”

“Cheers, Grizzop,” says Zolf.

“I can understand that,” says Azu.

Hamid lets out a single tear, and nods instead.

“Right then,” Grizzop says, rubbing his hands together, “What’s next?”


	5. this song is awesome/talia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cel gives everyone a breath of fresh air.

Cel opens their eyes. 

They’re off their feet in seconds, rocketing around the impossible room. It’s well made, they can see that for certain, though there’s always so much to explore, even in death. Or, well, the liminal space before death? The synapses firing away one last time? They’re not sure, but they may as well have fun with it anyway.

Grizzop’s  _ fun.  _ Grizzop  _ gets it _ , which is something Cel can appreciate. They clearly both have similar ideas, and when Cel sees that he’s making a cozy little corner to sit in, they switch gears a bit. 

The stage they’ve found is creaky, but it's more than stable enough for them, and would probably hold a few other people too. When they look a bit closer, they’re able to find lightbulbs that just need a good stomp on the wooden planks to alight, and there’s a box of assorted props behind the faux-proscenium. 

This is, of course, when they have an idea.

“It's been a bit... depressing, hasn’t it?” They ask, once Grizzop has made it clear he’s Done talking. Their friends murmur their assent, looking a bit wary (which, honestly, is better than looking sorry for themselves).

So, Cel stomps their feet, and the stage brightens in a flash of light, one of the lightbulbs actually exploding, which makes their toothy grin even wider. They spin a wild tale about a prince who keeps up a correspondence with a far-off princess for so long that they fall in love, only to discover that she’s not a real princess after all. The prince decides to leave royal life to be with her in the end though, so it is pretty sweet.

(And hey, Cel’s not on the top of their game for funny stories, but it's clear their friends are so desperate for a distraction that even something as boring as that has them howling in laughter. Somewhere along the line Grizzop and Azu joined them on stage, acting out the story as they told it, and Cel can’t help but be relieved.)

Once the impromptu trio has collapsed in a heap on the stage (now creaking ominously, but still holding), Cel lets out a little sigh of relief. Which is, of course, when Azu gently asks the question that, in retrospect, they should have expected.

“Is there anything you would have done differently, Cel?”

And, well, that’s the thing, isn’t it.

“Not--not really, I don’t think,” they say, “I mean, of course it’d be nice to have more time, if only to see the cool things that people make, but--but I’m happy with the choices I made. Or, well, maybe not happy with all of them, but they’re all a part of me, and if this is the way things are meant to go, then so be it! Who am I to disagree! Besides,” at this point they roll over towards Grizzop, “It’s like you said, little buddy-- this isn’t the end, not really.”

Grizzop smiles toothily and claps Cel’s shoulder from where he’s lying on the ground. “That’s the spirit!”

Cel doesn’t miss the way that Hamid turns away, but they certainly don’t say anything when Zolf scootches closer to him. Instead, they roll back towards their friends, making use of the time they have left.

“C’mon, there’s plenty of costumes back here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was like pulling teeth, despite the fact that i really love writing cel. who knew!


	6. sugar cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zolf and hamid have a chat.

Zolf opens his eyes. 

For some reason, the first thing that strikes him is that he’s in no pain at all. That is, until Hamid opens his  _ fucking  _ mouth. 

Sure, the situation they’re all in is absolute shit, but something in him breaks when Hamid is listing all the reasons that he deserves to be brought back to life as opposed to everyone he’s supposed to consider a  _ friend. _

In all honesty, he’s not sure who it should be. Azu and Hamid  _ do  _ both have families that need them, and Cel is an incredible inventor, and Grizzop is so driven he’d probably get more done than any of them. Zolf, himself, though?

Well what did Hamid call him? Ah, right. Unreliable.

It's not like Zolf can fault him for it. It's true, in a lot of ways. Or at least, is true to Hamid. But he’s  _ trying  _ and he’s doing  _ better--  _ or at least, he was, until the crash.

So he lets himself take a backseat as he hears his friends’ stories: Azu’s dreams of being the next Harrison Campbell, Grizzop’s desire for more time, and Cel’s excitement about how the world will progress; it's all really lovely, honestly, if not at least bittersweet.

So Zolf makes a choice, when he sees Hamid turn away from the group again. (He sees Cel hide the movement from their friends, and he feels a swell of affection gather in his chest for them.)

“Alright, Hamid?” he asks, now seated next to the shaking halfling.

“I--I feel  _ awful, _ ” he responds, curling in closer to himself, “I don’t know what came over m-me.”

As Hamid dissolves into tears, Zolf can’t help but reach out and wrap a comforting arm around his shoulders, at which point Hamid flings himself into his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Zolf,” he says, once the tears have dried, “I really am.”

“I know,” he responds, loosening his grip on the halfling so he can properly look at his face, “It wasn’t good what you did, but I’m sure the others understand. Wouldn’t hurt to apologize to them all too, though, huh?”

Hamid nods, placing his head back on Zolf’s chest as he speaks his next words, “I will, I promise, I just-- what about you, Zolf?”

Zolf lets himself think for a minute before he responds, slowly rocking back and forth. “I used to think that life was like a jawbreaker,” he says, chuckling at the confused face Hamid pulls, “Get it? Because you suck, and you suck, and you suck some more.

But that’s not what it's about, not really. After losing Feryn, I thought I was done. But then I found the navy, and the pirates, and then you all, and suddenly it didn’t suck so much anymore. The longer I spent with you all, the better person I became. I feel like the world looks  _ different  _ because we  _ made _ a difference, you know? Meeting you all changed my life and yeah, it’d be nice to go back, but to be honest, I think you all were it for me.” He pauses, opening his eyes again to see all their friends (even the weird doll) gathered around them, tears in all of their eyes. “Gods, you’re all a sappy bunch, huh?”

It doesn’t take long for Zolf to find himself the center of a massive cuddle pile, and for once? He finds he doesn’t really care. It's nice to be taken care of by his friends, and if he didn’t cherish it enough in life, at least he found it before death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, to myself: c'mon, you can write one fic without riverbank.
> 
> also me: but what if i didn't though? what then?
> 
> (anyway i'm not tagging this as riverbank bc i don't think it qualifies but please know they live in my head rent free which is. extremely clear for all of my other fics)


	7. the new birthday song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the doll gets a surprise.

A doll opens her eyes. 

She doesn’t know who she is. 

There are people around her. She doesn’t recognize them, but when she looks at them, it's with something like longing (not that she’s really able to name the emotion, at first). They all look so  _ sad,  _ and she’s not sure why. They keep telling stories, and the stories make  _ her  _ sad too. Or, at least, she thinks they do.

There’s a halfling who seems alright, if a bit rude at the beginning.

An orc, who has the kindest smile the doll has ever seen.

A goblin who won’t stop moving, with pointy teeth that the doll envies.

An elf who makes their friends laugh, which the doll thinks is a good thing, probably.

A dwarf who smells like seawater and belonging.

And her.

Why is she  _ here _ ?

She lets them have their moments. They called her creepy, and she doesn’t know them, so it's only fair that she stick to the shadows, more or less. For a while, she sits behind a crate the goblin turned over, staring towards the group that she wishes she could join. 

In fact, she stares so long that she doesn’t really notice that they’ve gathered around her, the dwarf holding... something in his hands, giving her a wary smile.

“Here,” he says, “We know it's probably scary not to know who you are, so we thought we’d throw you a birthday party, huh? Hamid’s idea.”

The doll turns to the halfling, who sidles a little closer to the orc when she does. So, she looks at the thing in the dwarf’s hand, which is... burning? That can’t be right.

She pinches the flame and it extinguishes without so much as a fizzle, and she  _ smiles. _

She supposes she must look scary, but the group-- her friends, maybe-- look excited, instead of frightened. The dwarf offers her the thing in his hand, gesturing bringing it up to her mouth.

She does, in a quick motion, making a mess of her face.

It’s  _ sweet. _

She can’t help but laugh. She may not know who she is, or who these people are, but they were kind enough to throw her a birthday party and give her a sweet and they’re all looking at her with pride and even if she’s not sure what’s happening, she knows it’s going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one more chapter to go! this may be the nichest au on the planet, but it's been really fun for me to write. if you've read it, thanks!


	8. it's just a ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the party makes a choice.

“I hate to break up this little party, but we only have a few more moments until a rat ends this little experiment for all of us,” Wilde’s voice crackles from all around, reminding them all of exactly what this means, “Have you made a decision?”

Honestly, the look of panic that crosses Hamid’s face shouldn’t be as funny as it is.

Everyone else, though, seems pretty calm. Grizzop is actually the first person to pipe up: “Listen, you creepy excuse for a human, I hardly think it's fair to make us choose. You’re the one bringin’ one of us back, shouldn’t you have the final say?”

Wilde ponders this a moment, laughing at Grizzop’s indignant face. “Was I so obvious?”

“That you were pullin’ Hamid’s leg to make him feel bad? Just a bit.” At this, the goblin sticks out his tongue, and Azu claps his shoulder.

“I suppose so,” Wilde says, “Still, I think it's only fair you all have a say. I’m sure you all have your opinions, so just let me hear them.”

“I think it should be the doll,” Hamid says, quietly, from the place he’s taken at the back of the group. “We all got to live our lives, but she--she never did, and it's not fair to her.”

Wilde watches Zolf squeeze Hamid’s hand in encouragement, and Cel gives him a big thumbs up.

“He’s right,” says Azu, “Besides, we know it's not the end. Maybe it’ll be different than we’re used to, but at least we all got a chance to live and learn and grow. It's only fair that we give that to her, too.”

“Alright then,” Wilde says, gesturing towards the curtain behind the stage, “Off you go, you creepy looking doll.”

What happens next almost defies description. It happens in three parts.

One: the curtains part, and as the doll walks through them, they suddenly all remember a name:

Sasha.

Two: There’s a great crash, electricity sparking and the sound of carnival music slowly ending, as if a music box were unwinding. And then Wilde is gone, but they’re all still there.

Three: on the stage, there comes a video, projected on the curtain that closed after Sasha.

It shows her life. Her  _ whole  _ life, from escaping Other London, to meeting the party, to choosing to  _ not  _ ride the Cyclone, to growing older and opening a school, to adopting a whole  _ host  _ of children that she names after her friends, who saved her. They get to see her happy, and they get to see her free, and it’s better than anything else could have been.

The funny thing is, after the video ends, they’re all still together. And then Sasha emerges again through the curtain, looking a bit older, but none the worse for wear, and it starts to get  _ weird _ , and not just because she pulls them all in for a tight hug and fiercely whispered “thank you”.

Something should be next, but they’re all still here. 

Cel and Grizzop make eye contact and get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that's it! thanks for reading, if you've made it this far! this was entirely self indulgent, so it's certainly not a perfect au, but i had a lot of fun writing it, and hope that maybe you enjoyed it as well.
> 
> ride the cyclone is an INCREDIBLE show and it's a travesty that there's not a cast album yet, but you can find most of the songs on youtube, and i cannot recommend it enough! it is. excellent.
> 
> special thanks to bri and kim for listening to my screaming about this musical-- this really did live in my mind rent free for months before i wrote it.
> 
> ALRIGHT i think that's it! as always, you can find me @choose__joy on twitter and thisisadingdongblog on tumblr! i love to talk about rqg musical crossovers (but promise i won't be writing another musical au any time soon!) and am always taking prompts and requests!

**Author's Note:**

> ride the cyclone is an absolutely incredible musical and is SO underrated so yes i am writing an au based on it. 
> 
> as always, you can find me @choose__joy on twitter and thisisadingdongblog on tumblr!


End file.
